For the first time in the nine-year history of the official eSports Bundesliga of the German Football League (DFL) the teams were organised into two sections for the 2020/21 season. The clubs were in North-West and South-East divisions. The eSports players from the first and second division clubs played 26 games in their respective league, which was divided into two half seasons like the Bundesliga.
The #B04eSports players secured fifth spot in the North-West section with 109 points. That qualified the team for the Final Chance round. This was played on Tuesday and Wednesday with the teams finishing third to sixth in the two divisions competing for a slot in the VBL Grand Final. The top two teams from the two sections qualified directly for the finals tournament.
The teams started the Final Chance with a 2 v 2 match. Hoffenheim had the choice of console as the better-placed side and they opted for Xbox. While Lukas ‘LUKAS_1004’ Seiler and Jan-Luca ‘BASSINHO’ Bass were on the controllers for TSG, Bayer 04 started with the experienced Kai ‘DETO’ Wollin and youngster Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr. And the Black and Reds took the lead just before half-time: The virtual Kerem Demirbay found Samed Onur on the edge of the box and he dummied his opponent before putting the ball in the back of the net to make it 1-0 (40’). A successful start to the evening.
The closing stages of the 2 v 2 encounter brought a setback: Daley Sinkgraven was alleged to have brought down an opponent in the penalty area and the TSG eSports players converted the ensuing penalty (72’). Not much happened after that and the scoreline was 1-1 after the first virtual 90 minutes. “A hard-fought game with an unlucky penalty decision,” was ‘DETO’ assessment of the 2 v 2.
The following 1 v 1 on PlayStation 4 saw Bayer 04’s ‘MARC_LDW23’ taking on Hoffenheim’s ‘LUKAS_1004’. The clash between the two 18-year-olds looked to be heading for a another draw – until the TSG eSports player broke into the penalty area on 76 minutes with a clear sight of the target. The Hoffenheim player made no mistake as he slotted the ball into the right side of the goal and that turned out to be the winner.
Leverkusen needed a victory in the third match against TSG to force a fourth and decisive encounter. Fabian ‘B04_DUBZJE’ De Cae started on Xbox against ‘BASSINHO’. The Leverkusen player pressed forward in search of the important opener and was successful on 58 minutes. However, the strike from Demirbay was surprisingly ruled out. “We can’t really explain the reasons for that,” ‘B04_DUBZJE’ is reported to have said after the final whistle. Bitter: Shortly after that came the opener from TSG (62’).
‘B04_DUBZJE’ upped the ante and again and again he got into the opposition box. The #B04eSports player netted a deserved leveller on 85 minutes. In spite of a number of clear-cut chances at the death, the Black and Reds were unable to score the crucial second goal. “The FIFA god unfortunately wasn’t on our side tonight,” summed up ‘B04_DUBZJE’ after the exit from the Final Chance round.
The evening ended with a narrow defeat in the Final Chance round. The #B04eSports players have missed out on progressing to the VBL Grand Final.
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month.
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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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